It has been… a long weekend and two days into the new week. We had a family wedding, lots of lovely heavy tropical rain and sudden sun, and being on the road for most of it in between. Other than that, I’ve been mostly on my phone—doomscrolling my time away —because I’ve just been too tired to do anything else. Yes, not even the book I’m currently reading (Shirley by THE Charlotte Brontë) enticed me to sit up and read.
Here is what’s been happening over the weekend.
The “DAK” Situation: What is Happening?
If you’ve been online at all lately, you might have seen the heartbreaking updates about our three Malaysian elephants—Dara, Amoi, and Kelat (lovingly known as DAK). They were recently transferred to Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan, and the footage coming out is… well, it’s a nightmare. They’re becoming thinner with one having their tusk snapped (???), no fresh grass fed to them, and all sorts of ridiculous updates coming from observers at the zoo.
Why on Earth Are They There?
The official line is that this was a “conservation collaboration.” You know the drill: knowledge sharing, enhancing care standards, the usual PR talk. But here’s the catch that makes zero sense to me:
- The Climate Crisis: These elephants were born and raised in Malaysia. They are built for 365 days of tropical summer. Now, they’re in a four-season country where they have to endure winters they aren’t physically equipped for.
- The Track Record: Tennoji Zoo apparently has a pretty atrocious history when it comes to animal deaths under their care.
I’m just sitting here wondering: Who thought this was a good idea? How does sending tropical animals to a concrete enclosure in a cold climate count as “conservation”? It feels less like a collaboration and more like a massive oversight at the expense of Dara, Amoi, and Kelat.
If you love adorable and gentle elephants as I do, please take just 1 minute of your time to sign and be part of the 100,000 crowd who have, and keep up-to-date of our DAK!
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